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In addition to a class 5 felony eluding charge against Christopher Woodring, 27, the district attorney’s office in Pitkin County filed a class 1 misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and driving under the influence against Woodring, according to court records.
Aspen School District officials have not publicly commented about Woodring’s job status. The incident allegedly occurred March 16.
At a team meeting held March 22, one day after the Aspen Daily News reported about the incident, however, school officials told players Woodring was no longer a coach, according to people knowledgeable of the situation and speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Woodring did not respond to text and voice messages on Tuesday, and his lawyer did not reply to a Friday voice message.
At Woodring’s court appearance April 1, Pitkin County District Judge Christopher Seldin set May 20 for his next appearance. In the meantime, his lawyer, Heather Cramer of Aspen, received permission from Seldin that will allow Woodring to attend a wedding out of state. She said he is not a flight risk.
“Mr. Woodring works in the community. He’s been here for several years. He’s so well-regarded within the community,” she said.
Cramer expressed a desire to quickly move the case and asked Seldin whether Woodring can attend his next court hearing virtually “in the event we reach an agreement” with the prosecution. That decision lies with Woodring, Seldin said.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by Aspen police, Woodring drove his Ford 150 truck away from police when they tried to make a routine traffic stop in the West End neighborhood. Police twice tried to pull him over, but Woodring was driving so fast and recklessly that he got away both times, the affidavit said.
He later ditched the vehicle, with its doors wide open, on South 3rd Street between West Main Street and West Hopkins Avenue, the affidavit said.
Passengers in the vehicle included a junior player on the basketball team and two graduates of Aspen High, one of whom is a former Skier basketball player and 19 years old and the other a 20-year-old male. They all were cited with minor-in-possession charges, which are petty offenses, after police found them in a nearby alley, the affidavit said.
The young men told police that Woodring advised them to make a run for it after he abandoned the truck, adding that hours earlier, also the night before, they had dinner at Woodring’s home before hitting the town. They used their fake IDs to get into an downtown Aspen bar with Woodring and later got a ride home with Woodring, the affidavit said.
Police arrested Woodring on a warrant at his residence in Snowmass Village, nearly 12 hours after the alleged incident. He was booked and released on a $2,000 bond, according to court records.
Though he did not take field sobriety or breathalyzer tests, Woodring faces a DUI. Police first tried to initiate the traffic stop when he allegedly ran a stop sign in the West End. Woodring’s fast and reckless driving on North 4th Street in the West End almost caused him to have a head-on collision with an Aspen Police patrol vehicle, the affidavit said.
Woodring faces the lightest vehicular eluding felony charge under Colorado law. The sentencing range for a conviction on class 5 felony eluding is 1-3 years in state prison. The state’s two other felony eluding charges are class 3, which is an incident involving death (4-12 years in prison), and class 4, an incident causing bodily injury (2-6 years).
The Aspen School District has been quiet about the matter. Its communications department did not respond to inquiries left Friday and Tuesday regarding Woodring’s job status. Cory Parker, the head coach of the boys varsity team, declined comment when reached Tuesday.